The world is increasingly complex, instrumented and virtual. There’s vast amounts of information about consumers and the factors that influence their behavior that simply didn’t exist in the data warehouse era. Here, we take a closer look at how all this data will affect retail when it comes together with recent technology trends.

The “input button,” an often misunderstood piece of remote control real estate, unlocks a wide range of content for consumers with an array of devices, and it’s no longer invisible to audience measurement.

While unexpected by many, the Amazon-Whole Foods linkage highlights just how profoundly consumer expectations are changing with regard to food and beverage shopping—and will continue to do so moving forward.

Global sports are thriving, but media consumption is changing before our eyes. And as the media world grapples with these issues, so too must the sports industry. But these challenges aren’t the only obstacles facing the sports realm.

The spread and influence of technology will be a key driver of change across the globe over the next five years. However, there will be regional differences, and some countries will leapfrog traditional cycles of development.

It’s no surprise that more and more items are being outfitted with built-in connectivity. Consumers’ adoption of internet-enabled devices isn’t a given, however, and it’s worth exploring why acceptance has been so fragmented across categories—as well as what the industry can do to accelerate usage.

As a consumer group, Millennials are just starting to flex their spending power, which will grow significantly in the coming years. While they’re years from fully establishing themselves, they’re already having a marked impact on the global consumer landscape.

VOD services are undoubtedly transforming the way audiences consume video, so it’s important to tune in to what’s driving engagement around the world. Our recent online global survey found that while several strong motivating factors will support continued growth, there are a few barriers to be mindful of, too.

VOD programming allows consumers to watch what they watch, when they watch and how they watch. And today, nearly two-thirds of global respondents (65%) in a Nielsen online survey in 61 countries say they watch some form of VOD programming, which includes long- and short-form content.

Online shopping is growing around the world, but is this affecting how people are shopping in physical stores? Consumers aren’t simply “showrooming”—browsing in store and then going online in search of the lowest-cost option. They’re also “webrooming”—researching online and buying in stores.

While connected commerce is still largely a domestic affair, cross-border ecommerce is a growing phenomenon. Shoppers are increasingly looking outside their country’s borders, as more than half of online respondents in the study who made an online purchase in the past six months say they bought from an overseas retailer.

Three factors form the foundation of a successful ad campaign: Reach, resonance and reaction. Reach the right audience, and ensure your advertising resonates positively so you can generate the desired reaction. Simple–right? Wrong.

Digital is gaining momentum, which has many clients asking: Should I move to an all-digital plan? “All digital” is a bold move for any marketer, with multiple factors to consider. But before you take the plunge, answer these 10 key questions.

Despite evidence that the rise of digital shopping has become an influential factor in the changing retail landscape, consumer shopping channel preferences continue to shift. A review of sales trends for select FMCG around the world reveal that when it comes to trade channel importance, there is no single answer that’s right for all.

For retailers, e-commerce is only one part of the digital picture. A complete digital strategy includes interaction at every point along the path to purchase. Digital touch points occur both in and out of stores, and consumers are increasingly using technology to simplify and improve the process.

While the appetite for buying groceries online is at high levels around the world—more than half of global respondents are willing to give it a try—digital natives are leading the charge. These consumers have an unprecedented enthusiasm for—and comfort with—technology, and online shopping is a deeply ingrained behavior.

Imagine a grocery store where you can receive personal recommendations and offers the moment you step in the store, where checkout takes seconds and you can pay for groceries without ever taking out your wallet. Sound far-fetched? It’s closer than you think.

Imagine a grocery store where you can receive personal recommendations and offers the moment you step in store, your checkout takes seconds and you can pay for groceries without ever taking out your wallet. Sound far-fetched? It’s closer than you think.

From search engines to social networks, people around the globe mostly use electronic devices for three primary purposes: relationship building/maintaining, information gathering and entertainment viewing. But what does the future use of electronic devices look like, and where are the best opportunities for growth?

We’re living in a world of 24/7 connectivity, accessing our content on our own terms, and we like it that way. Around the globe, 76% of respondents in a Nielsen online survey say they enjoy the freedom of being connected anywhere, anytime. While consumers love this flexibility, it represents a huge challenge for brands and content providers vying for our attention in a fragmented viewing arena.

We’re living in a world of 24/7 connectivity. We access content on our own terms, and we like it that way. But while this flexibility can be a benefit to us, it represents a huge challenge for brands and content providers vying for our attention.

Across the globe, shoppers are increasingly turning to the web to buy the things they need. But some categories are benefiting more than others. The online market for consumable goods—due to their hands-on buying nature and perishability—is comparably smaller than for non-consumables—durables and entertainment-realted products. Nevertheless, the global audience is willing and eager to shop the web.

From power tools to bikes, to electronics and even to cars, people around the globe are leveraging the unused capacity of things they already own or services they can provide for a profit. Welcome to the share economy.

During the bitter cold-spell sweeping much of the U.S. this winter, more Americans than usual turned to the Internet for entertainment. Four out of-5 U.S. web users access entertainment websites each month, and this January, 167 million Americans visited sites in the entertainment category.

Despite e-commerce's momentous effect on shopping behavior, it's far from revolutionary; it’s simply an evolution. While many have recognized the opportunities created by new technology, some categories—like consumer packaged goods (CPG)—haven’t capitalized on e-commerce. Nevertheless, CPG manufacturers and retailers can boost sales by engaging with shoppers in new ways and providing unique shopping benefits through their online models.

The number of digital devices and platforms available to today’s consumers has exploded in recent years. As a result, today’s consumer is more connected than ever, with more access to and deeper engagement with content and brands. And these changes are contributing to the media revolution and blurring traditional media definitions.

Technology has changed a lot in the last 30 years—even the last three! In Nielsen’s Digital Consumer Report, we explore this transformation and examine how the everyday lives of consumers are now intertwined with the digital world.

Over the past 15 years, e-commerce has grown significantly but remains just below 6 percent of total commerce. So why does it feel like a lot more when we consider the droves of shoppers who are always on their computers and smartphones? According to Dr. Venkatesh Bala, chief economist for The Cambridge Group, a part of Nielsen, consumers' expectations have evolved.

When it comes to online shopping for cosmetics, Chinese consumers take their time and cover all the bases before they make their purchases. And in addition to spending hours looking for the right products and deals, their paths to purchase often include actively engaging and interacting with brands and online communities before they open their wallets.

Two-fifths of Americans visited food and cooking websites in November, up 2 million unique visitors from October. And regardless of which sites they visited, 86 million consumers spent an average of 25 minutes using these websites—just long enough to prepare or cook a meal.

Advertising times have changed for e-commerce dealers in Italy. While online purveyors have taken their advertising messages offline in many regions around the globe, particularly in the U.S., the trend is starting to pick up in Italy. And what’s more, e-commerce dealers are increasing their ad spending while many others are pulling back.

The media and marketing landscape in Australia has evolved at a rapid pace in a very short period. In fact, when we look at how consumers obtained information and engaged with brands 10 years ago, it’s as if we’re looking at an entirely different industry playing field today.

As mobile device and service availability increase, particularly in developing markets, more and more consumers are experiencing the freedom to surf the Web and stay connected wherever their days take them.

There’s no shortage of ways for consumers to spend their time online, but retail shopping was among the more popular options in July 2013. Preparing for back-to-school and shopping for their everyday needs, nearly 110 million Americans visited retailers’ websites in July.

As any parent can tell you, kids love touchscreen devices. And Nielsen’s quarterly Connected Devices Report found that during Q1 2013 more than three-quarters of tablet-owning parents (78%) let their kids under age 11 play with tablets in their homes.

Consumers are branching out to new screens and increasing the number of media hours in their days—and marketers are following suit. La Quinta Inns & Suites—whose core consumer is the 25-64 year-old male business traveler—recently turned to Nielsen to measure its latest cross-screen campaign, and the effort yielded five-star results.

It may be a long time before the bulk of China’s population embraces the idea of buying alcohol online, but sales of beer, wine and spirits over the Internet in the country are steadily clicking upward. Notably, more and more consumers are saving themselves the trip to the store by purchasing their liquor online—something that’s only been an option since 2007.

If April showers bring May flowers, then millions of Americans must have been busy with home improvement projects this spring, as more than 1 in 3 Americans used the Web to visit home and garden websites in May.

Three trends are making it easier for marketers to justify moving brand dollars into digital media: audiences are consuming an ever-increasing amount of digital media; richer creative formats are allowing marketers to create more engaging consumer experiences online; and consistent multi-platform metrics are emerging that allow us track relative efficacy of different media.